Local telephone service providers offer a variety of optional services to their customers. The services can be broadly categorized as originating services and terminating services. Originating services are controlled by the originating or calling party's central office when the calling party places a call. In comparison, terminating services are controlled by the terminating or called party's central office when an attempt to terminate a call occurs.
One example of a terminating service is “caller identification.” Caller identification provides the called party with the name and telephone number of the calling party. Caller identification is typically provided to a subscriber by its local central office. In particular, each central office ordinarily has access to a local database containing telephone numbers and the corresponding names of people within its local area. Prior to terminating a call to the called party, the central office searches its database for the telephone number of the calling party. If the telephone number is found within the database, the name corresponding to that number will be accessed and delivered to the called party by the central office.
Terminating services are typically provided by equipment located at the called party's central office, which incorporates the software and electronics hardware necessary to implement the service. As a consequence, to “roll out” or provide a new service to customers served by different central offices, each central office must be individually equipped with special equipment implementing the new service. Therefore, if a telephone operating company purchases such equipment from a number of different vendors, each vendor must design and implement the equipment required to provide the new service into their own existing equipment.
This architecture utilizing local central office equipment for implementing services presents problems for telephone service providers. To design, implement and equip each central office with new equipment delays the time in which new services can be introduced. Such delays prolong the time before additional revenues from the new services may be received. Another problem is the limited flexibility of the system. In particular, in order for a telephone operating company to “roll out” a new service, each vendor must design and implement the equipment to provide the new feature. This may also result in delays and loss of revenue.
Presently, advanced intelligent networks (AIN) are replacing the network control systems previously located within each central office. AINs incorporate several network elements such as a number of signal switching points (SSPs) and a service control point (SCP) to create a network. An AIN is operated by a centralized control system that is located within the SCP.
The present embodiment of the invention allows the caller identification service to be removed from individual central office databases and integrated into a central AIN database. Bringing the caller identification into the AIN database allows the caller identification to operate compatibly with other AIN features, such as calling party pays and alternate routing. New features may be implemented through the centrally controlled AIN, as opposed to each individual central office.